Frieda Berlin
Frieda Berlin is a main character and an inmate at Litchfield Penitentiary. She is also a member of the "Golden Girls" group who befriends Red in Season Two. In Season 6, she’s in B-Block, “Florida”, of Maximum Security. She is portrayed by Dale Soules. Personality Frieda has an abrasive, "bad grandma" personality. She is blunt, but she is loyal and had remained on Red's side until season six when she betrayed Red. Frieda is highly practical and has an encyclopedic knowledge spanning many subjects, especially those concerned with survival and poisons. Despite her age, she is still an intense criminal. In the later seasons, she showed a more treacherous, weak side by selling out her friends, attempting suicide and hiding away. Physical Appearance Frieda is an older woman who is always seen wearing her brown hair in a ponytail. The roots of her hair are grey. Like some of the other Golden Girls, she wears a button up uniform rather than the plain T-shirt most other inmates have. She has an octopus tattoo partially visible on her neck. Due to her charges and age, it can be deduced that Frieda could have a life sentence. Biography Before Litchfield For a list of episodes featuring Frieda's flashbacks, see here. In "Fuck, Marry, Frieda" she is shown to have been a Girl Scout with high merits, while living in a survivalist household. Her father believes that war between the Soviets and the US is inevitable, using flawed methods to reinforce his confirmation bias. He and Frieda routinely go camping together, which usually turns into a survival exercise -- Frieda is left alone with minimal supplies, and has to find her way home and hunt her own food along the way. Frieda manages to fins her way home but has obtained cuts from leeches in a lake. It is hinted by Red in "Doctor Psycho" that Frieda was a biker. Frieda reveals in "40 OZ of Furlough" that she cut off her husband's penis with a butcher knife that "wasn't even sharp." In Season Four, she also mentions that she killed four people in one year. She also killed a cop with his own gun but she stated she doesn't remember if she was caught or not. At Litchfield In Season Six, it is revealed that Frieda used to assist Carol Denning with running a contraband market in the library of the Maximum Security facility. One day, they were approached by the older sister and rival of Carol, Barbara Denning, who confronted Carol and Frieda about selling mutually agreed banned items for the respective blocks. After the encounter, the entire stash Frieda and Carol had stored went missing. At first, Carol thought it was Barbara who had stolen it but it was revealed to have been given over to an officer by Frieda, who, in exchange, moved her to minimum security. ("Look Out for Number One") In Season Five, when other inmates were digging through her things, they found a postcard from someone named Bones. When pressed, she said it was short for Skin And Bones, and that he used to work at the prison taking care of the swimming program before they got rid of it. After poisoning Piscatella, she said she got the poisonous plants from Bones, and that they shared a "love of botany." At some point before Bayley's employment, Frieda was at the prison. While working outside, Bayley's friends drive past and throw eggs at the working prisoners, one of which being Frieda. She then turns around and shouts at them and after, Wade Donaldson pushes her aggressively ("The Animals"). Season Two Frieda and the other Golden Girls befriend Red and help her with cleaning out the greenhouse. Later in the season, Red accuses Frieda of betraying her by telling Vee about the tunnel. Frieda reacts fretfully, unaware why Red is threatening her. After Taslitz mistakenly stabs another inmate instead of Vee, Frieda encourages Red to play it to her advantage by explaining to Vee that it was a planned warning shot instead of a mistake. Season Three Frieda expresses her disappointment at Red's decision to cement the tunnel shut, and begins to scheme other ways to make money, such as renting out the cornfield "as a motel room". Later in the season, she becomes an avid fan of Suzanne's science fiction story, "Time Hump Chronicles". She also expresses her distaste at Norma's cult following, especially when they meet in her and Leanne's cube. Season Four She finds the body that Alex and Lolly have hidden in the greenhouse. When they try to make excuses she tells them she's bored and asks what their plan is. She convinces them it's better to dig "six one-foot holes" than "one six-foot hole" and assist them in chopping up the body and burying it in the garden. She keeps the keys taken out of Aydin's uniform as a thank you, which she later gives to Red. When Lolly's behavior becomes erratic and appears that she may tip off the guards about the body, Frieda decides it is in their best interests to kill her as well using oleander leaves, but Alex and Red won't let her. When the body is found, she seems equally offended and confused that she wasn't named as a suspect. Season Five In this season, Frieda exposes her true girl scout skills that she was forced to grow to learn in her childhood ("Fuck, Marry, Frieda"). During the riot, she reveals the secret den that she has been working on for the length of time she has been at Litchfield. She goes down there to escape the chaos and decides to invite her friends - certain members of Red's family and circle (Red, Yoga Jones, Gina, Norma, and DeMarco) and Gloria - to stay down there with her by slipping them all directions. At first, they aren't terribly impressed with the small room, due to the fact that it's quite tight with all of them there, but once Frieda opens the door revealing the old pool, their tones change. When Gina discovers Piscatella and the inmates he has tied up, who are the rest of their social circle excluding Morello, Frieda helps her free them. Whilst Gina lures him towards the den, Frieda shoots him with a poisonous dart, knocking him out. The group then ties him up on a chair in the pool and the girls he had captured are invited to stay with them. Eventually, the group hears the riot police storming the prison. They all argue about whether it's best to stay where they are or go up and surrender. Eventually, some of them leave, but Frieda, Red, Blanca, Piper, Alex, Suzanne, Black Cindy, Taystee, Nicky, and Gloria remain in the pool. The officers are tipped off to their location and the ten women link arms, waiting for what will happen. The doors are blown in and the episode fades to orange, leaving their fate as a cliffhanger until the next season. Season Six Frieda has been moved to Litchfield Max following the events of Season 5. She is revealed to have been originally from Max, having assisted in running contraband with another inmate, Carol, back in the early '80s. Some time after a run-in with a rival and sister of Carol, Barbara Denning, their stash went missing and their hideout was trashed. Frieda suggested that Barbie took their stash, but while Carol and some allies go after the rival, it's revealed that Frieda secretly cut a deal with the warden to rat out Carol for transfer to minimum-security prison. In the present, she makes repeated attempts to kill herself, worried that Carol will seek revenge for her betrayal. Red talks her out of it numerous times, but she ends up betraying Red by telling the federal investigators of Red's involvement with the riots. In return, Frieda is transferred to the relatively peaceful and civilized B-Block of Max, known as "Florida", populated by trans inmates, the elderly, and those with mental health concerns...but not without Carol catching a glimpse of her along the way. Relationships Friends * Taslitz - Taslitz was a member of the Golden Girls group before being transferred back to max. * Irma Lerman - Another member of the Golden Girls group * Jimmy Cavanaugh - Jimmy was a member of the Golden Girls group until she got compassionate release when the others were no longer able to keep her dementia a secret. * Leanne Taylor - Frieda's bunkmate. * Alex Vause - Frieda helps Alex and Lolly hid the body of the guard they killed in self-defense. * Lolly Whitehill - Frieda helps Alex and Lolly hid the body of the guard they killed in self-defense. * Piper Chapman * Gloria Mendoza * Gina Murphy * Erica Jones * Anita DeMarco * Norma Romano * Suzanne Warren (former) * Sophia Burset Enemies * Desi Piscatella * Marisol Gonzales * Maria Ruiz * Maritza Ramos * Yvonne Parker *Carol Denning *Barbara Denning *Red *Tiffany Doggett Trivia *She is the first character not be recurring in first season, before being promoted to a series regular. Memorable Quotes Gallery Screenshots 04x01, Frieda, Alex, Lolly.png 04x04, Frieda, Red.png Season 5 x 02.png OITNB S5 04.png Orange-is-the-new-black-end-scene-finale-season-5 640x345 acf cropped.jpg Others Friedagreen.gif Friedapers.gif Appearances Navigation Category:Litchfield Inmates Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Whispers Employee Category:MAX inmates Category:Season 5 Characters Category:Season 6 Characters